Maestro almost ready for showtime in the former Stars

Leading the way in this week’s Inside Scoop print column is the latest dish on 555 Golden Gate Avenue, plus some great quotes regarding the former Stars (and Trader Vic’s) space from the always-eloquent Jeremiah Tower.

As Tower can tell you, it’s not an easy space or location, but oh, it’s got great bones and so much potential.

When news first broke of Maestro last fall, very few details were available. As the folks behind La Boheme in Burlingame quickly near an opening, more is coming to light. Though a significant amount of work was done in the back-of-house, the bones of the front-of-house, somewhere in the 150-200 seat range (depending on private rooms, etc.) were left largely intact.

Full liquor will be served, and the chef will be Neil Marquis, who will create a menu full of French bistro classics and similarly themed fare on an all-day menu. Appetizers may include steak tartare, red-wine-infused pork belly, bone marrow, warm Dungeness crab and artichoke dip, lobster bisque, smoked salmon roulade, oysters on the half shell and quiches. Salads: Lynnoise, Nicoise, Crab Louie. There will be burgers, a croque monsieur, and larger entree plates like steak frites, duck confit, mussels, some pastas, and so on.

There will be a street-level cafe component as well, and with some luck, that may open within the next week.

Maestro: 555 Golden Gate Avenue, at Van Ness

· Stars site in S.F. to shine again as Maestro [Scoop/Chronicle]
· Previously: Maestro to resurrect the former Stars/Trader Vic’s space [Inside Scoop]